Tag Archives: self discipline

Well, friends, we did it. We completed our very first (and certainly not last) No Spend Month. And, we did an excellent job, if I do say so myself. And I do.

We bought gas in both cars. We did a little grocery shopping (bread, milk, snacks) because I had shopped for our dinners the week before in advance. We were set for a good finish.

Our one little “blip”, if you can even call it that, came on Sunday (the 24th). Sunday was my sister’s birthday, and she wanted to spend the day with my girls and her wife. So my husband and I went crib shopping. Remember, we were done having kids and our crib was recalled, so we have NO crib (or much else for that matter). Anyway, we headed to a few (read: five) stores looking for the perfect crib (we found two we like, and SHOCKER to ya’ll, my husband likes one and I prefer the other…). Before we left the house that afternoon, I took a $10 bill out of our grocery envelope in case we ran into any issues while we were out. Crib shopping can sometimes take a while, and I didn’t know if we would be able to be home for lunch. I didn’t want the Hunger Monster to strike and for us not to be prepared for it (note: we used money we had already budgeted in for food). While out, my blood sugar started to drop a bit, and graham crackers weren’t cutting it. I had to get lunch. Well, we went to Burger King and spent $9.41 on lunch for two of us. Was it a true emergency? Perhaps, as had my blood sugar dropped too low I may have had a worse afternoon. Was it one I was prepared for? Yes. Because I anticipated the need by taking money out of our envelope for food in case we needed…well…food. So, we KIND OF fell off the wagon for a second (hello, pregnant women need to eat. And, apparently, I need to eat constantly), but not really, because it was budgeted, we stayed under budget, and it was still food. So, we were almost perfect. What can I say? I gotta eat!! Regardless, I still feel damn good about No Spend Month, and I look to do it again sometime in the summer.

It will be a bit harder for us to do once we actually have money TO spend on things that aren’t essentials, but I know we will be able to do it because we have the discipline in place to not allow for failure. Failure hasn’t been an option for us yet, and it will not be in the future. If we can do it now, we can do it anytime we want. It’s all about controlling the money, the money not controlling you. And, I can say with confidence, we *at this point* have damn near perfect control of our money. 🙂 More income will mean more savings, and that, to me, is cool as hell.

If you decide to do a No Spend Month, let’s talk about it! Post your ideas, link up to my blog to record your progress, and keep me posted on how it goes! I have inspired two of my friends to try it this month, and I KNOW they will rock it! 🙂

Hi friends! Been a while, eh? I told you I need a little more self discipline when it comes to this bloggy blog here. Sorry, been a little crazy busy. Prepping things for the upcoming semester. Prepping things for my final Capstone project (have I mentioned I finish my Master’s in February? 2.26.12 to be exact…lol). Trying to avoid the whole, “New Years Resolution Post” because I didn’t make any this year. I don’t like the commitment and guilt involved with resolutions. I never go through with them, because by February I have forgotten that I gave up chocolate, and I eat a bag of Hershey’s kisses to indulge what I have been denying myself. Nonsense for me. Some people can do it and I give them kudos? Me, I’m too much of a commitment-phobe for that. It’s far too long-term.

I kind of make little goals for myself throughout the year. And this month, I am focusing, once again, on ways to save money.

I want to start becoming serious again about coupons. I don’t know about you, but I am the type of person who cuts coupons, and then forgets them. Or cuts them and lets them expire. Or who thinks about cutting them and then sees something shiny and forgets all about what I was doing. That’s me. Right there. However, if done right, coupons can save a ton of money. And I need to start doing them right. Not half-assing them like, “oh I have this coupon, I should use it” but, “Hey I cut these bad boys out! Let’s shop!” I actually made a point to cut coupons out and get them ready for a trip to BJs, and I saved $40. That was awesome. Like, mind-blowingly awesome. I had every intention of saving more, but I wanted to bank some coupons for the next trip, before they expire. Because I let them expire all the time, and then I curse myself for being so wasteful, of both my time of cutting them out and my money that could have been saved. I like BJs because they allow me to use manufacturer coupons AND their coupons. And that’s awesome. I need some good couponing websites, so friends please feel free to share.

I want to do better with these:

I want to have time for one of these:

I will never have this (and that’s more than okay):

I also just revolutionized the way my family will get their entertainment and watch television. I ordered a Roku box. Now, I know a lot of people who have this amazing device, and they say it is a real game changer. I have been considering it for some time, and we are going to give it a 30 day trial period. I like that it is cheap, it has free channels and can work with hulu or netflix. I am already a member of netflix, and have enjoyed hulu programming previous to now, so I really think this will be good. It will break us out of our rut of watching the same 8 shows on Nick Junior during the time my children get to watch TV and will allow Shawn and I to expand our options when we actually get to watch TV. I am looking forward to it. Keep your eye out for my review. Have a Roku? Tell me about it!

Reusable gift bags… I have a ton of them. I never use them. This is also going to be an area where I improve.
Recycling, also. I suck at it. I am planning on stopping the suckage and starting to do it again regularly.

I also started a 365 Day Devotional through the Bible. That’s been fun. And interesting. I don’t know anything about the Bible, and so I figure I need to teach myself. And I am. AND I haven’t missed a day yet! That’s huge lol.

I need a blogging assignment daily. Like, something to write about. I want to start writing more, because I am pretty good at it. Perhaps I will get some sort of “Writing Prompt a Day” type of thing and start sharing some of that on here. Would give me something to write about besides my boring everyday life, right? Anyone have one of these Prompt a Day things? Where does one obtain such an item? Online? That would be nice…save paper and all. Perhaps I shall Google.